Liquefied gas vaporizer



May25,1943. ummm '2,319,819

v LIQUEFIED GAS VAPORIZER Fiied oct. 4, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 1 May 25,1943 .1. w. MARTIN 2,319,919

LIQUEFIED @As vAPoRIzER Filed on. '4. 1941 2 sheets-sheet 2 i! VUuirish"STATE a control valve 6 is interposed,

r H-shaped preheater` 9.

Patented May 25, 1943 s PATENT OFFICE `Lrousrmn GAS varoluzsa JamesWoodward Martin, Dallas, Tex., assigner to Lone AStar Gas Company,Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Texas Application october 4, 1941, serialNo. 413,679

' s claims. (ci. ca -1) This invention relates to vaporizing apparatus.and especially to a vaporizer adapted to vaporize liquefied hydrocarbongases such as propane. butane, propylene, butylene, etc. or mixturesthereof.

In my Patent No. 2,084,297, and my application Serial No. v410,766,filed Sept'. 13,` l9 i=1, I disclosed embodiments of a vaporizingapparatus, and set forth certain objectsrelating to the treatment ofliquellable hydrocarbon gases. The main object of the present inventionis to improve such apparatus.

Another object is to provide vanV apparatus particularly adapted for usein connection with liquefied gases, and including means whereby the gas,before reaching a regulator (controlling the service line), receivesheat and is thus maintained above the temperature at which any moisturecontent would freeze,` thereby preventing the regulator from becominginoperative due to freezing. i

A further object is to provide a preheater of novel construction adaptedtobe heated by the saine heater employed in heating the contents of atank in which the liquefied gas is stored.

A further object is to produce a simple and inexpensive device -and'yetone which will be exceedingly eiIective-forthe purposes for which Y jtrate the invention, and the scope of such invention will be pointed outin the claims.

In the drawings:

. Fig. l isa vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, of anembodiment of the invention shown in connection with a liquefied gasstorage tank. and meansfor heatingthe latter, such tank and means beingonly partially shown.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fie. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. l

Referring to the drawings, l designates the bott-om portion of a tank orreceptacle for the storage of liquefied hydrocarbon gases.` Vapors fromsuch gases are discharged from the upper portion of tl'leiank through apipe 5 in which In my previous aonaratuswthe pipel 5 led directly to theregulafnr 1, but in .accordance with the present invent-ion. the pipeleads. asbest shown in Fig. 3.

fo the intakeinner tub',` Bof a substantially The inner tube terminatesnear the closed end il! of an outer tube Il. the'onposite end of whichis closed. as indicated atl2. A cross pipe I3 connects the medialportion of the outer tube il to a similar portion vfor use in heatingthe latter.

of an outer tube Il ofthe discharge leg of the preheater. This outertube also has closed ends, as indicated at I5 and I6, and gases aredischarged from the tube Il by means of an inner discharge tube'llhaving one of its ends located near the closed end I5 of the tube Il.Tube Il leads to the regulator fl and mayV have a branch pipe IB.provided with a pressure gauge n formk a flue 28 through which airmaybe introduced into a burner compartment 29 and be preheated on itsway by hot gases of combustion travelling through the chamber 26'.

In accordance with the present invention, gas, after travelling throughthe regulator, can ow to the heat supplying burner 30 arranged inthe-compartment 29. This is accomplished by a valved branch 3| leadingfrom the service pipe to a T 32 that has an upwardly extending f branchconnected to one end of a conduit I3.

sof

The other end of the conduit is connected to a pressurestat 34 throughwhich the gas passes on its wayto the burner line 35. At this point -itwill be noted that the pressurestat is con nected by a branch 36 to thegas conducting pipe 5 so that the pressure of the vapor leaving thestorage tank may be used to control the pressurestat. Obviously, athermostat could be substituted for. the pressurestat so that the heatof the liquid or vapor in the storage tank could be employed to controlthe flow of the gas to the main burner 30. A pilot burner 31 isconnected by a tube 38 to one end of'the T 32,

andan electric ignition device 3S may be employed to ignite the pilotburner. ,Hot gases of combustion from both burners 'Varedischargedthrough an elbow-shaped stack 40 into the heat chamber 26, and suchstack may be welded directlv to the bottom of the tank, as indicated at4|. It will be noted that its upper portion extends between the legsofthe preheater 9. and it is'manifest that the preheater can be directlysecured to the stack, if desired, so that heat from the stack will bedirectly transmitted to the metal forming the preheater. An insulationjacket 42 surrounds the stack between the that the main portion of thepreheater is within the heat chamber.

From the above it is believed that the operation of the vaporizer willbe obvious, but I'may point out that the heat from the burners, iraccordance with my prior apparatus, as disclosed in my above mentionedapplication, is not only employed to heat the contents ofthe storagetank and the air used for combustion, but in addition, heat up thepreheater 9V so that the vapors or gases supplied to the regulator,pressurestat and burners, will be kept in such condition as to preventthe freezing of moisture therein.

Obviously, the invention is not limited to the details oi' theillustrated construction. These may be variously modified within thescope of the appended c1aims.` Moreovenit is not indispensable that allfeatures of the vinvention be used conjointly, since various elementsmay be employed Vto advantage in different combinations andsub-combinations.

What I claim and desire vto secure Patent is: u

-l. In vaporizing means of the type having a by Letters `storagereceptacle for liquefied gas, a heat chamber for use in heating thereceptacle from the exterior thereof, burner means forbelow said heatchamber for supplying heat directlyV to the heat chamber, fuel supplymeans for leading fuel from the storage receptacle to the burner means,

Vand a regulator interposed in said fuel supply means, Vthe improvementwhich comprises a preheater for the fuel interposed in the fuel suplymeans anterior to said regulator and arranged to be heated by heatsupplied from the burner means.

2. In vaporizing means of the type having a storage receptacle forliquefied gas, a heat chamber for use in heating the receptacle from theexterior thereof, burner means for supplying heat to the heatchambenfuel supply means for leadstorage receptacle to the burner'tially parallel outer tubes having closedends, a l

cross tube connecting the outer tubes, an inner intake tubeextendingintoone of the outer tubes and terminating near one of the closed ends ofthe latter, and an inner discharge tube extending into the other outertube and .terminating near one oi the closed ends of the latter.

3. In a vaporizing means'of the type having a storage receptacle forliquefied gas, a heat chamber extending along the bottom portion of theexterior of said receptacle, a stack communicatingwith and dependingfrom vsaid heat chamber, burner means below said receptacle forsupplying hot gases of combustion' to the stack, fuel supply means forVleading fuel from the storage A receptacle to the burner means, and aregulator interposed in said fuel supplyv means, theV improvement whichcomprises a preheater for the fuel extending into the heat chamberadjacent to the stack and vinterposed in the fuel supply means anteriorto said regulator.

4. In a vaporizing means of the type having a storage receptacle forliquefied gas, a heat chamber extending along the bottom portion of theexterior of said receptacle, a stack depending from said heat chamber.burner means for supplying hot gases of combustion tothe stack, fuelsupply means for leading fuel from the storage receptacle to the burnermeans, and a regulator interposed in said fuel supply means, theimprovement which comprises a preheater for the storage receptacle forliqueed gas, a heat cham- 'ber for use in heating the receptacle, burnermeans below the heat chamber for supplying heat directly to the heatchamber, means for conducting gasfrom the receptacle to the burnermeans,

and a'regulator interposed in the gas conduct-A ing means, theimprovement which comprises a preheater for .the gas extending into theheat chamber and interposed in said gas conducting means anterior tosaid regulator.

6. In vaporizing means of the type having a storage receptacleforliquefied gas, a heat chamber for use in heating the receptacle fromthe exterior thereof, burner means for supplying heat to the heatchamber, fuel supply means for leading fuel from the storage receptacleto the burner means, and a regulator interposed in said fuel supplymeans, the improvement which comprises a preheater for the fuelinterposed in the fuel supply means anteriorto said regulator andarranged to be heated by heatsupplied from the burner means, and apressurestat controlling said burner means and operatively connected tothe fuel conducting means anterior to said preheater.

` '1.In vaporizing means of the type having a storage receptacle forliquefied gas, a heat chamber for use in heating the receptacle, burnermeans for supplying heat to the heat chamber,

means for conducting gas from the receptacle to the burner means, and aregulatorinterposed in the gas conducting means, the improvement whichcomprises a preheater for the gas extending'into the heat chamber andinterposed in said gas conducting means anterior to said regulator, saidpreheater including substantially parallel outer tubes having closedends, a cross tube connecting the outer tubes, an inner intake tubeextending into one of the outer tubes and terminating near one of theclosed ends of the latter, and an inner discharge tube extending intothe other outer tube and terminating near one of the closed ends of thelatter.

8. In vaporizing means of the type having a storage receptacle forliquefied gas, a heat chamber extending along the exterior of thebottomof the receptacle, burner means below said chamber for supplyingheat directly to the heat chamber, means for conducting gas from thereceptacle t0 the burner means, and a regulator interposed in said gassupply means, the improvement which comprisesa preheater for said gasarranged substantially horizontally below the receptacle, in-

terposed in the gasconducting meansv anterior to said regulator, andarranged to be heated by heat supplied by said burner means.

JAMES WOODWARD MARTIN.

